Dragging Your Feet on Unpacking

The more you trip over boxes, the more likely you will eventually get to unpacking them.

As much as moving into a new home can be exciting, spending hours unpacking and arranging stuff in your new house can be a huge pain. This leads to many people procrastinating the unpacking process and going weeks or months living out of their boxes. Some movers also tend to relegate boxes to a particular room where they end up forgotten for a long time.

Dragging your feet during the unpacking process is common but it should be avoided because it can turn your new home into a messy affair.

Disorganized

Need to get to an important social event but you can't find your favorite dress? Or maybe you misplaced an important document and you don't know where to start looking. Having a room full of boxes makes it more likely that you will be disorganized until you finish unpacking.

If you can't find something, it is difficult to begin opening up all the boxes looking for it, especially if it is needed on short notice. In order to avoid such last minute headaches, get unpacking as soon as possible.

Poor Use of Space

Stuffing boxes in a particular area of the home results in poor use of space, especially if you moved into a smaller house. An entire room could become inaccessible due to clutter.

So why would you want to pay for your new home just to store a clutter of boxes? Maximize the space in your house by unpacking all your stuff and getting rid of what you don't need.

Can be Expensive

Dragging your feet when unpacking can be expensive. You may find yourself purchasing items that you already have but forgot about. Because it may be difficult to access your important items if you haven't already unpacked them, you may find yourself going on a shopping spree due to the urgency of needing certain items. This makes you spend more than you need to.

Unsanitary

Clutters of boxes in the home can be a breeding ground for rodents and other insects such as cockroaches that can lead to an infestation.

If you still have piles of unpacked boxes in your home after a move, there are several ways you can seek some motivation and begin unpacking as soon as possible.

Put a Hold on Buying New Stuff

Avoid rushing to the store whenever you can't find something. Make it inconveniencing for yourself by trying to live without the item until you eventually decide to tackle those boxes and find what you need.

Can't find your favorite pair of shoes? Wear the old ones until you get motivated enough to improve your look and dig the better pair from the clutter.

Develop a Plan to Use all Available Space

Take some time to review how your new home looks. Are you making use of all available space? Remind yourself of the excitement that you had before moving in and how you had planned to set up your new home.

This will motivate you to begin rearranging those rooms full of boxes so you can use the space as it was originally intended.

Create a Checklist and Timetable

It's important to have a method to the madness. Create a timetable of when you will get to begin unpacking, and write a checklist of what you plan to unpack. You can begin slowly with the more important boxes and work your way down over time.

Having a detailed plan for unpacking will motivate you to kick-start the process after weeks of procrastination.

Seek Help from Friends and Family

A great way to start unpacking is to set aside a day when you can plan to invite friends and family to help. Entice them with a reward such as free pizza after they help you finish unpacking. And because you already have a checklist, you can devolve duties to each person so the unpacking process can proceed at a faster pace.

Make Unpacked Stuff Inconveniencing

Another great way to get unpacking is to make living with clutter as inconveniencing as possible. Rather than stuffing boxes out of sight, keep them in your way where you will constantly see them. The more you trip over boxes, the more likely you will eventually get to unpacking them.

Avoid Distractions

When you finally get to the big day and begin unpacking, avoid any and all distractions. Turn off TV and internet access if you have to, and try not to leave the house in the middle of the unpacking process. A quick trip to the store can turn into a whole day gone if you happen to run into a friend.